ORGANIC BYTES #100

Health, Justice and Sustainability News Tidbits with an Edge!

1/11/2007 - Written and edited by Craig Minowa and Ronnie Cummins

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IN THIS ISSUE

• OCA LAUNCHES NEW CAMPAIGN: NUTRI-CON
  THE TRUTH ABOUT VITAMINS AND SUPPLEMENTS
• RECOMMENDED READING FOR THE WEEK: VITAMIN MYTH EXPOSED
• HELP SET ORGANIC STANDARDS AND WIN A MOUNTAIN BIKE
• PRODUCT PLUNDER OF THE WEEK: CAPRI-SUN "NATURAL" BEVERAGES
• FRANKEN-WINES TO HIT U.S. THIS YEAR
• WEIRD SCIENCE: GENETICALLY ENGINEERED CANNIBAL COWS
• TIP OF THE WEEK: HOW TO FEED YOURSELF
• WEBSITE OF THE WEEK: MONITORING WASHINGTON'S 'REVOLVING DOOR'
• QUICK FACT OF THE WEEK: NATIONAL DEBT

OCA LAUNCHES NEW CAMPAIGN:
NUTRI-CON: THE TRUTH ABOUT VITAMINS AND SUPPLEMENTS

The Organic Consumers Association is proud to announce a new long-term consumer education and marketplace pressure campaign called "Nutri-Con: The Truth About Vitamins & Supplements." Nutri-Con will focus on the problems, hazards, and rampant industry mislabeling and disinformation in the conventional and so-called "natural" vitamin and supplement sector, while working with organic and nutritional experts to implement a new certification and labeling standard for vitamins, botanicals, and supplements (Naturally Occurring Standards: NOS) that are naturally derived from plants and foods and organic. Ninety percent or more of the vitamins and supplements now on the market labeled as "natural" or "food based" actually contain synthetic chemicals. Through this campaign, the OCA will help consumers identify ingredients and brands they should avoid and find companies, such as Botani Organic, that are already selling 100% NOS plant and food based vitamins and supplements.

Learn more: www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_3697.cfm

RECOMMENDED READING FOR THE WEEK:
VITAMIN MYTH EXPOSED

Did you know the majority of topical Vitamin E comes from an industrial chemical factory? Did you know the body's immune system treats some synthetic ingredients in vitamins like poisons? To help kick-off OCA's new "Nutri-Con" campaign, we will gradually be posting chapters from the eye-opening new book, "Vitamin Myth Exposed," by Dr.Brian Clement of the Hippocrates Health Institute. This first installment gives basic background information about how pharmaceutical companies are taking the health out of modern day vitamins and supplements and selling you so-called "natural" products that are filled with synthetic chemicals.

Learn more: www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_3697.cfm

PLEASE TAKE THIS IMPORTANT SURVEY
TO HELP SCULPT ORGANIC STANDARDS!

Organic standards for personal care products (e.g. lotion, shampoo, toothpaste, cosmetics, etc.) are currently being developed by a task force. The OCA is fortunate to have a staff person serving as a voting representative for consumers on this task force. Unfortunately, we are the only voice for consumers on this task force made-up almost entirely of industry representatives. Please take this short 19 question survey to help us know better how to vote in a manner that creates a standard that protects your individual needs and desires as a consumer of personal care products. You can have an important and effective hand in helping to sculpt organic standards simply by taking this quick anonymous survey now.

www.organicconsumers.org/rd/nsf-survey.htm

PRODUCT PLUNDER OF THE WEEK:
CAPRI-SUN "NATURAL" BEVERAGES

A Florida woman has filed a lawsuit against Kraft Foods for deceptively labeling it's Capri-Sun products as "All Natural". The beverage is packed in foil pouches that claim the juice contains "no artificial ingredients" while cleverly failing to provide an ingredient list. In actuality, the beverage contains only a small amount of fruit juice and is predominantly made of high fructose corn syrup, a sweetener made via synthetic processes that is found in most soda pops.

Learn more: www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_3753.cfm

FRANKEN-WINES TO HIT U.S. THIS YEAR

Consumers beware: the Frankenwines are coming. As with other genetically engineered food, there will be no labeling required on wines that, for the first time, will contain gene-altered yeast. The FDA has carried out no studies of its own on the experimental yeast, and yet has approved it as "safe," based completely on data provided by the company selling the product. According to Dr. Joseph Cummins, emeritus genetics Professor at the University of Western Ontario, wine yeasts are unstable, and genetically altering them can lead to unexpected toxicity in the final product. Genetically engineered yeast is banned in every nation in the world, other than in North America, so the use of the controversial yeast by a few large domestic wineries will likely damage the entire U.S. wine industry, as concerned wine consumers.

Learn more: www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_3682.cfm

WEIRD SCIENCE: GENETICALLY ENGINEERED CANNIBAL COWS

Experts have long agreed that the fatal brain-wasting disease called Mad Cow is spread by the routine practice on industrial farms of feeding cows to cows---essentially turning natural herbivores into cannibals. (This practice of course is banned on organic farms.) Now a group of industry-friendly scientists have come up with a "solution" to the problem. Instead of discontinuing the practice of force-feeding bovine herbivores blood, manure, and slaughterhouse waste, scientists claim they have successfully genetically engineered a new cow that will not contract Mad Cow Disease, even when fed infected meat from Mad cows. Scientists have genetically engineered the cows to be born without normal nervous system prions, which go awry when an animal catches the disease. According to the researchers, the animals appear to be doing fine, so they apparently don't really need those prions anyway (even though they are there as a result of millions of years of evolution).

Learn more: www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_3750.cfm

TIP OF THE WEEK: HOW TO FEED YOURSELF

As the global population expands, the amount of arable land per person is shrinking. As Will Rogers once said, "They're making people every day, but they ain't makin' any more dirt." Historically, populations have dealt with this problem with a technique known as "Biointensive Mini-Farming". Researchers in Arizona's Biosphere II (an experimental closed eco-system) have seen incredible results from incorporating some of these traditional mini-farming techniques, including the use of 99% less energy, up to 88% less water, and roughly half as much fertilizer, compared to commercial agriculture. They also produce two to six times more food while building the soil. The procedure allows people to grow more of their own food, even if they have limited access to land. Currently, most of the nation's food is produced by only 0.2% of the population. With organic mini-farming practices, everyone can be part of the solution.

Learn more: www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_3659.cfm

WEBSITE OF THE WEEK: MONITORING WASHINGTON'S 'REVOLVING DOOR'

It's no secret that Big Business has as much or more influence on lawmaking in Washington as actual regulators do. Freely available to the public, the new "Revolving Door Database" is the most comprehensive source to date for learning who's who in the Washington influence industry, and for uncovering how these people's government connections afford them privileged access to those in power. Users can see, for example, which federal regulators are now working for the industries they once oversaw. "There's a back story to every law, regulation and government contract, and OpenSecrets.org's Revolving Door Database helps tell those stories," said the Center's Executive Director, Sheila Krumholz.

Learn more: www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_3721.cfm

QUICK FACT OF THE WEEK: NATIONAL DEBT

The national debt on January 11, 2007: $8,674,243,208,578.15
Your current share of the national debt: $28,823.36

Source: www.house.gov

We rely on your donations to continue our work on these important issues!

www.organicconsumers.org/donations.htm

 

messages from our supporters

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Order Aloha Bay candles!

Please forward this publication to family and friends, place it on websites, print it, duplicate it and post it freely. Knowledge is power!

ORGANIC BYTES is a publication of:

ORGANIC CONSUMERS ASSOCIATION
6771 South Silver Hill Drive
Finland, MN 55603
Phone: 218-226-4164 Fax: 218-353-7652

 

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